


explaining hidden spirits to shika

by phooykazooi



Series: The Realms Between [3]
Category: Naruto
Genre: rough draft that was edited out
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-08
Updated: 2019-10-08
Packaged: 2020-11-29 01:36:55
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 363
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20954405
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/phooykazooi/pseuds/phooykazooi
Summary: An old chapter that was chopped up and cannibalized. It's a companion piece to Spirit-touched, taking place sometime after chapter 17 and was edited out of the mother work.





	explaining hidden spirits to shika

“I don’t understand,” Shikamaru is saying. “What do you mean when you say that the spirits have  _ hidden?  _ Hidden how?”

“Well…” She takes a moment to think. “You know how we’re able to perceive visible light, but that there’s more light you  _ can’t  _ see? It’s a little like that. On the visible light spectrum, you have the red wavelengths and the blue wavelengths and so on. But there’s also radio waves, X-rays and gamma waves, which are all forms of light but are undetectable to the human eye. The spirits are able to manipulate light so that they can be next to invisible. Does that make sense?”

Shikamaru leans heavily into Sharingon-sama’s side, crossing his arms and frowning. “Not really,” he grumbles.

“Shikamaru,” says Sakura thoughtfully. “You feel the sunlight on your skin, right? Well, the sun emits light and warmth as a form of energy, and contained in sunlight is infrared, which we detect through nerve endings on our skin. We can’t  _ see _ the infrared radiation, but we know it’s there. Imagine...imagine that the spirit realm is composed of a form of energy that most people are unable to detect, but  _ I  _ can.”

“What, like how some people get sunburned more easily than others?”

“Sure. Or maybe,” she wracks her brain for another metaphor. “In the deep ocean, you know how certain wavelengths of light can’t reach specific depths? Like, at 200 meters, blue light can’t be seen and only red can get through? Imagine the spirits are deep sea animals that use bioluminescence to fool predators. The thing is, it doesn’t work on me. I’m like a walking radiation detector--I’m capable of detecting the energy they emit and translating it into  _ my  _ visible light spectrum.”

“Why is that?” he asks. “Are you the only one who can do that? Why doesn’t their... _ camouflage _ work on you?”

She shrugs. “We don’t really know. It might be, like...a kekkai genkai. A genetic quirk or a spiritual anomaly. My parents call me spirit-touched.” They consider this for a moment. Then, Sakura says, “You’re doing a lot of theorizing for someone who only recently discovered the spirit realm.”

“I’m curious,” he mumbles. 


End file.
